A man and woman arrested in Mississippi on local charges have been accused of the killing of a man in Park County, and the man is suspected in a death in El Paso County last month.
In the case of Timmy Huston, who was found dead inside his Hartsel home, Johnny Rankin Morris, 46, and Hailey Cole, 43, are suspected of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, conspiracy and tampering with evidence of a felony, according to a news release from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Morris also is suspected of first-degree murder, tampering with a dead body and tampering with physical evidence for his alleged role in the death of El Paso County resident Stephen Walker.
El Paso County sheriff’s deputies began investigating Walker’s disappearance Dec. 19, the same day Morris and Cole are accused of killing Huston.
When deputies arrived at Walker’s home, which he shared with Morris, they found a large pool of blood in the garage. Investigators later found Walker’s body dumped in a wooded area outside county limits, deputies said.
Park County sheriff’s deputies found Walker’s vehicle along with Huston’s body while conducting a welfare check at Huston’s home Dec. 24.
Huston’s Ford F-250 truck was located by the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office in the pair’s home state of Mississippi four days later, and on Dec. 30, Morris and Cole were arrested in Poplarville, Miss., after a person reported a man matching Morris’ description trying to break into her vehicle.
The two were booked into jail on outstanding warrants in that state in addition to charges of commercial burglary and attempted residential burglary, according to the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office.
Morris was awaiting extradition to Colorado as of Friday morning, El Paso County deputies said.
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